Railway tie cutting machine



4 Sheets-Sheet l N, mx,.-. i-- .....N

July 16, 1940. H. E. wooLERY RAILWAY TIE CUTTING MACHINE Fiied Aug. s,193e Julyvl, 1940- I H. E. wooLERY l 2,207,883

RAILWAY TIE CUTTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 8,- 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July.16, 1940. H. E. wooLERY.

RAILWAY TIE CUTTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 8, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 lub/e405E Mouser July 16, 1940. H. E. wooLERY RAILWAY TIE CUTTING MACHINE 4sheets-sheet 4 Filed Aug. 8. 1938 Patented July 16, 1940 UNITED STATES,-

PATENTy oFFlcE RAILWAY TIE CUTTING MACHINEA Horace E. Woolery, St. Paul,Minn.

Application August 8, 1938, Serial No. 223,653

9 Claims. (Cl. 143-69) I'his invention relates to improvements inmachines for cutting railway ties.

Until quite recently it has been the practice in removing old and wornrailway ties, to re- .,5 move rst a large quantity of the ballastkalongside the tie so that the tie could be moved later ally and droppedinto the trench-like space thus formed, in order to clear the overlyingrails. The tie was then drawn endwise from beneath the rails, afterwhich the new tie was put in place and the ballast replaced and tampeddown. However, this operation, in addition to consuming a needlesslygreat amount of time and labor in removing and replacing ballast, alsoresulted in a very imperfect footing for the new ties since it was aphysical impossibility to tamp the disturbed ballast and restore it tothe same density as it was at the outset. As a result, the new tie hashad a tendency to settle or actually roll to.- 20 ward thedisturbedportion of the ballast and cause an uneven roadbed to beformed.

To make possible the removal and replacement of old railway ties withoutdisturbing; any substantial amount of the firmly packed ballast f therehas recently been patented (April 12, 1938, Number 2,114,053) a machineby which the tie may be cut clear through at points just inside of eachrail so that the tie is severed into three relatively short pieces. Theen-d pieces may then 30 be withdrawn endwise from beneath the rails(after the spikes are removed of course), and the center piece liftedout and the entire tie is thus readily removed without digging out theballast. The new tie is then put in place, and I what little new ballastis required is distributed and tamped down. The firm, undisturbedballast along the sides and bottom of the new tie will then support itin proper position and prevent ysettling of the track at that point. Theeicacy of this method of tie removal andv replacement cannot bequestioned, but some fault has been found with `the patented machine inactual operation. This machine as now constructed embodies a pair of sawmembers supported upon a frame which has flanged Wheels at each side torun upon the railway track. This assembly, together with the correlatedsaw reciprocating means, saw feeding means, and tie gripping members forholding the machine over the tie being worked upon, is quite large andheavy, as Well as expensive, and the need for a lighter and moreinexpensivel machine is apparent.v

f It has been found that there is no objection to cutting quite a numberof ties near one rail and 'readily handled machine.

leaving the cut ends in place beneath the rail until the other ends canbe cut and the tie removed and replaced. It is thus possible, in onestroke, to halve the number of parts required by providing amachine forcutting only one end of the tie at a time, and it is the primary objectof my invention, therefore, to provide a tie cutting machine ofrelatively light and. inexpensive construction and which'embodies meansfor cutting one end of the tie at a time but which, due to itslightness, may be'readily reversed on the track to move back over thespace of trackage just worked and cut free the other ends of the v ties.

Another object is to provide a machine of this kind in which the entireoperating assembly is concentrated in a narrow unit over and adjacentone rail, and is supported by double flanged wheels thereon so as toprovide a compact and The necessary lateral balance and stability isprovided by a laterally extended outriggerarm Awhich carries at its enda small roller for Contact with the other rail. This Outrigger arm,however, is. arranged to swing back alongside the machine when not inuse, so that the machine may be stored away in a small space,

Another object is to provide a machine for this purpose embodying anovel and eicient means for retaining it in place while cutting a tieand which means comprises a releasable clamp for engaging the head ofthe rail to prevent travel movement of the machine. This clamparrangement is of advantage, relative to a tieengaging clamp, for thereason that the rail is a constant factor as regards width and verylittle range of operating adjustment, of theclamp jaws is required. Onthe contrary, the ties will vary a great deal in width, as well as inroundness and shape, and clamps for engaging the ties must necessarilyhave a 'wide range of adjustment and will require more manipulations tohold the machine. v

A further object is to provide a machine of this kind which includes anovel mechanism for varying the length of stroke of the cutting saw tothus adapt it to ties of any width and prevent the saw from swinging outinto contact with the adjacent ballast. Associated with this strokeadjustment is a novel linkage system designed to prevent said adjustmentfrom so changing the position of the saw that it will work off to oneside of the tie as would otherwise be the case.

A further object is to provide a machine of this character embodyingalso a means for adzing the upper surface of the tie at both sides ofthe rail so that a smooth flat surface may be provided for the receptionof a rail plate or chair. Rails very often sink into the tie somedistance as time goes on, and to prevent this action the installation ofrail plates may be desirable, especially where the tie itself is round.It has been the practice to adze the tie off at each side of the rail byhan-d to permit the plate to be place-d beneath the rail, and it is todo away with this laborious and makeshift hand job that I provide theadzing attachment for my machine.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed inthe course of the following specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a side elevation of mymachine as in operation upon a section of railway track, the adjacentrail being removed in part and two ties shown in cross section in orderbetter to illustrate the cutting operation.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the machine, viewing it from the opposite,or outer, side with respect to the view in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary end elevation of the lower portion ofthe machine showing one supporting wheel and the frame adjusting means.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, vertical section along the line 5 5 in Fig. 1. p

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross section along the line 6--6 in Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged end view of the railclamp for locking the machineagainst travel movement.

Fig. 8 is a fragmental, vertical section similar to the lower portion ofFig. 6, but showing the tie adzing assembly and a tie adzed off by themachine.

Fig. 9 is a detail view showing a rail supported bya plate or chairafter the tie has been adzed off as in Fig. 8.

Referring now more particularly and by reference characters to thedrawings, A designates the main frame or base assembly of my machine,and which acts as a support for the power unit B, the saw C and itsoperating mechanism D and the stroke adjustment means E as well as therail clamp F. 'Ihe frame A is supported at one side upon flanged wheelsG and at the other by a single roller H in such manner as to run, asshown, upon the railway rails I which are supported upon the cross tiesJ. As stated hereinbefore, the saw C is arranged to cut downwardlythrough any of the ties J just inwardly of the adjacent rail I, and forthis purpose the saw is arranged to have a pendulum like swinging oroscillating motion transversely of the tie to cut from side to sidethereof. For then feeding the saw downwardly into the tie as the cuttingproceeds, I provide the feed mechanism K.

Inasmuch as it is desirable in order to facilitate the removal of thesevered end of the tie, to cut the tie as closely to the inner side ofthe rail as possible, I provide my framework A in the form of anelongated narrow assembly as shown and arrange it to ride immediatelyover the inner side of the rail adjacent which the cut is being made.The saw is thus properly supported in vertical alignment with the cut,and the weight of the parts is best distributed to aid in feeding thesaw to its work. Of course, when one end of the tie is cut free, theother end may be similarly cut by simply reversing the machine on thetrack, a feat made readily possible by the relative simplicity,compactness, and lightness of my machine. It has been found, however,that there is no objection in working a considerable length of track bycutting the ties progressively at one end and leaving the severed endsin track supporting position with the spikes L and rail plates or chairsM (if used) still in place. The machine may then be reversed on thetrack at the end of its run in one direction and the other ends of theties severed by running the machine back over the stretch previouslycovered. In this manner cuts N-N may be made adjacent each rail todivide the ties into the three sections J I J2, and J3.

When the tie is thus cut the various sections may be readily removed,and a new tie put in place, all without seriously disturbing the ballastand the density and firmness of the road bed. It is thought that furtherdetails as to the actual method of removing and replacing the ties willneed no further description herein, and attention is directed to thepreviously identified Letters Patent No. 2,114,053, for a completediscussion of the method and its merits.

Describing my `machine now more in detail, the frame A comprises twoangle iron base beams or members I0 and II which are secured in parallelkus spaced relation by rivets I2 to the mounting wings or lugs I3 of thebearing members I4 forming supports for the axles I5 of the wheels G.These beams I@ and I I are thus supported to run parallel with the railI upon which the wheels G travel and to stand upwardly and inwardly fromthat rail. The projection inwardly from the rail I is adjustable bymeans of the screws Iii which run through end plates Ilia aixed to theinner ends (relative to the track) of the axles I5 and which havethreaded engagement with lugs II cast in the bearings I4 so that, byturning cranks I8 on the inner ends of the screws, the bearing and thebeams supported4 thereby may be adjusted horizontally to differentpositions relative to the rail. Inasmuch as the saw C operates in avertical plane centrally located in the space between the beams It andII, this adjustment serves to vary the position along the length of thetie at which the cut will be made. It is, as stated, desirable to makethe cut as closely as possible to the inner side of the rail, tofacilitate removal of the severed ends of the tie, but where a railchair M is used the cut must necessarily be moved inwardly ment with therail I opposite the rail engaged by the wheels G. The Outrigger arm I9is extended from a point adjacent what is hereinafter termed the frontalend of the machine and is braced inv position by a brace rod 2|releasably connected at 22 to a medial point of the arm and extendeddiagonally rearward to the beam II where it is pivoted at 23 thereto'.By releasing this rod from the arm at 22, the arm may be swung backalongside the beams to permit storage of the machine in a narrow space.The location of the arm toward the frontal end of the machine alsoleaves they space between the ties at the rear end of the machine clearfor the convenience of the operator of the machine. I

Mounted vertically atop the beams l0 and H at.' the rear portionsthereof is a frame made up of braced upwardly converging side `members24 which arebolted at their lower ends 25 to the beams 4and at theirupper ends are joined by a cross piece 26. -A feed lever 21 is pivotallyconnected in a transverse axis 28- to the center of said cross piece 25and extends rearwardly to terminate in a handle 29,. The upper end ofthe saw carrier bar 35 is pivotally connected at Si between thediverging frontal end portion of the lever 21, and depends freelythere-from down Wardly between the beams I 9 vand H adjacent their rearends'.r At its lower end this carrier 35 is provided with a recess 32and spacedbolts 33, by means of which the saw blade 34 may be secured'in place, and this blade is elongated in form, having saw teeth 35 alongits lower cutting end', as shown. The length of `this cutting end ofthe'blade is considerably less than the width of the ties J. It will bereadily apparent that, by raisingand lowering the feed lever 21 'the saw34 may be adjusted vertically toward and away from the tie as requiredfor feeding the saw into the tie as it is being cut. The saw may also beraised entirely into the clear when the machine is not in use or istraveling along the rails, and the usual toggle levers or links 36 areprovided for releasably retaining the parts in this elevated position. Atelescoping rod assembly 31 is pivotally connected at 38 to the feedlever and extends down-` wardly and rearwardlyto a bearing 39 aflixed onthe beam lil, and this: rod assembly will extend or telescope as thelever is raised and lowered. A spring arm 40 secured to the outertubular section of the rod bears frictionally at 4l on the inner sectionto frictionally retain the lever and saw in any adjusted position, aswill be understood.

The saw operating mechanism D comprises a crankshaft 42 which isjournaled transversely in bearings 43 adjacent the upper ends of theframe side members 24, and which is driven by the power'unit'B (whichmay be any self-contained unit or motor) by means of a. belt 44 trainedover the power unit drive pulley 45 and another pulley 45a aixed to oneend of the crankshaft. A connecting rod 45 is pivotally connected at oneend 41 to the crank pin of the crankshaft and extends forwardly towardthe substantially vertically disposed rock lever or operating lever 48to which it is pivotally connected at 49. This lever 48 is fulcrumed at5&2, and at its lower end is pivotally connected at 5l to a pitman 52extended rearwardly and pivotally connected at 53 to the lower end ofthe saw carrier 3l?. This assembly is obviously such that rotation ofthe crankshaft 42 by the power unit B will cause a rocking oroscillating movement of both the operating leverl 48 and the saw carrier30 in a vertical plane and transversely with respect to the ties J. Thismovement of the saw carrier will cause a sawing action of the saw teeth355 upon a tie, when the saw is fed down toward the tie by manipulationof the feed lever 21, and the tie may thusbe sawed entirely throughalong a transverse line and at a point inwardly of .the adjacent rail Iby a distance determined by the setting of the screws I6,

It is important in the operation of the saw that its stroke becontrolled conformably with the Width of the tie in order to prevent thesaw from moving outward into engagement with the ballast at each end ofits stroke, and so becoming dulled or' broken. For this purpose Iprovide means for adjusting the fulcrumpoint of the operating lever 48in a vertical plane so that, due to variation in the leverage thusattained, the stroke of the saw may be varied at will This fulcrum point50, therefore,r is formed of pins which extend at opposite sides from aslidebearing boxing or case 54 slidably mounted on a faced off medialsection of the lever. These pins are then pivotally mounted at 55 in thespaced, longitudinally extended and vertically movable rocker arms ormembers 55 and 51. These members. are pivotally mounted at their rearends at 58 to the upper ends of links 59 which are in turn pivotallysupported on the rear ends o-f the beams l0 and l I in the bearing 39,and another, 50, in axial alignment therewith, and at their frontalends: the members are pivotally connected at 5l to a yoke E2. This yokeis threaded at 53 on a vertically axised adjusting screw 64, and aninverted' U-shaped stand 55 is bolted at 6G to the beams I0 and ll tosupport the screw in such manner that, by turning the handle 51, thescrew may be operated to raise or lower the frontal end of the saidrocker members. An upward movement of the rocker members will thus slidethe bearing 54 upwardly on the operating lever 48 to lengthen the sawstrokes while a downward movement will reverse this action and shortenthe saw strokes.

To prevent the operating lever 48 from itself moving upwardly anddownwardly during this operation, I provide links 68 at each side andwhich are pivotally mounted at their lower ends to bearings 69 securedon the beams I 0 and Il, and extended upwardly to a point substantiallyin alignment with the axis 50. Inasmuch as the majority of ties are of asimilar width, this axis 50 will in most cases rest at a constant level,and

the upper ends of these links 58 are provided with bearings 10 at apoint in alignment with this normal position of said axis 50. Hangerarms 1| are welded, or otherwise secured, at 12 to the operating lever48 above the faced oif portionv thereof, and depend downwardly alongsidethe lever to a pivotal connection with the said bearings 10. The armsmay thus rock back and forth freely on the bearings, and even when theaxis 50 is shifted for varying the stroke the rocking action will not beinterfered with. However, the operating lever 48 will be prevented fromshifting as the slide bearing 54 is moved, as will be readily evident.

To avoid the possibility of the aforesaid stroke adjustment causing ashifting of the normal position of the saw carrier 30 by a fore and aftdisplacement of the position of the driving mechanism, I provide thelever arms 13 which are pivotally mounted in bearings 14 on the frameside members 24 and extend rearwardly th'ere- Y from to their pivotalconnections at 15 with the rocker members 56 and 51. Thus, as the rockermembers are moved upwardly or downwardly to vary the stroke of the saw,the operating lever will not be shifted forwardly or rearwardly, butinstead will be retained in the same relative vertical position by thepull exerted by these lever arms 13 (which move at their rear ends withthe rocker members) and which pull will counteract any shifting tendencyof the assembly,

'I'he foregoing completes the construction of the machine insofar as thesaw and various controls and supports therefor are concerned, and it isthought that the operationwill vbe apparent without further descriptionherein. For convenience in handling lthe machine, a hand rail 16 may beprovided along each side and at the front. That portion of the rockermembers 56 and 51 be.- tween which the saw carrier 30 will swing may belined by bearing strips or bars IUI of wood or the like to serve asbearings and guides for the saw carrier. These strips IDI may be securedin any suitable manner to the inner faces of the rocker members. Theconnecting rod 46 is partially enclosed by a protective guard or shield|92, shown only in Fig. 3, and which is removably supported between theframe 24 and stand 65. Spare saw blades may be carried by bolting themalong one side of the beams, as shown in Fig. 3.

For the purpose of securing the machine against travel movement alongthe track while a tie is being cut, I provide the rail clamp now to bedescribed. This device is arranged at the rear of the machine forconvenience to the operator of the machine, and comprises an inverted,U-shaped yoke member 1'I which has its ends freely pivoted on the axleI5 at each side of the rear wheel G. Arms 'I8 extend rearwardly from thepivoted ends of this yoke member and at their rear ends carry atransversely axised bearing sleeve 'I9 through which a shaft 89 isslidably mounted. At the outer side of the rail a shoulder or jaw 8| isdepended from the sleeve 19 and is adapted, in one position of theparts, to move downwardly alongside the rail head as shown in Fig. '7.This shoulder 8| carries set screws 82 to engage the outer side of therail head. The shaft 8l) carries a jaw 83 radially extended to fitdownward over the inner side of the rail head, and this jaw has a setscrew 84 for engaging said head. 'Ihe shaft 89 is threaded and may bemoved endwise through the bearing 19 by slightly turning the block 85,and for this purpose the elongated handle 86 is provided. Thus, bymanipulating the handle 86 the shaft 80 may be moved .to draw the jaw 83toward jaw 8| and clamp the rail head between the set screws 82 and 84,or, by reversing the movement, the jaws may be disengaged from the rail.The machine may in this manner be retained in any adjusted positionalong the track to properly center the saw over the tie being cut.

A retractile coil spring 8l is stretched between the yoke 'Il' and abracket 88 secured forwardly to the beam I9, and serves to normally drawthe yoke forwardly and swing the jaws upwardly out of engagement withthe rail as shown in Fig. 3. However, by placing the foot on theextended pin 89 the yoke and jaws may be readily pushed down into railengaging position. The amount of this movement of the parts is limitedby a rod 90 which is pivoted at 9| to the yoke and extends rearwardlyand slidably through an eye 92 on the bracket 88. Stops 93 are providedon the rod to contact the eye 92 and limit the motion.

It is frequently found that the rail, especially if it has not beeninitially supported on a rail plate or chair, has sunk or worn its waydown into the tie a considerable distance. The tie, however, may stillbe perfectly sound and not require replacement. Under thesecircumstances it has been the custom to adze the tie off at each side ofthe rail down to a point level with the base of the rail to permit therail to be raised slightly and rested upon a plate, placed upon thesmoothed upper surface of the tie.k This operation has heretofore beencarried out by hand, but by use of an adzing tool (Fig. 8) my machinemay be employed for the purpose and will not only provide a smootherjob, but will do the work in less time. 'I'his tool is, of course, usedin lieu of the saw 34 which is removed and replaced by one tool head 94which then is supported in position to work at the inner side of therail. There is also provided a head 95 for working at the outer side ofthe rail, and this head is supported in spaced relation (horizontally)to the inner head by an arm or bracket 96 which is bolted at 91 to thecarrier member 39 and straddles the rail and adjacent parts of themachine;A The tool heads 94 and 95 may be of any suitable construction,having teeth or blades 98 over a relatively wide working face in orderto cut away transverse sections of the tie at each side of the rail whenlowered into working engagement and operated by the saw operatingmechanism herein described. The cut away portions of the tie areindicated at 99 in Fig. 8, and it will be noted that a long straightsurface |00 is thus provided flush with the base of the rail so that arail chair or plate M (Fig. 9) may be put in place to support the rail.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in thestructure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within thespirit' and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fullyillustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new anddesire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A tie cutting device comprising a frame adapted to be supported .on'the rails of a railway track,l a feed lever pivotally connected to theframe for vertical adjustment with respect thereto, a cutting devicepivotally supported in a depended position from the lever for transverseoscillating movement with respect to a tie supporting the said rails, anoperating lever pivotally supported in the frame upon a verticallyadjustable bearing, a pitman connected between one end of the operatinglever and a lower portionl of the cutting device, and power operatedmeans connected to the other end of the operating lever for rocking thesaid lever and oscillating` the said cutting device.

2. A tie cutting device comprising a frame adapted to be supported onthe rails of arailway track, a cutting device pivotally supported in theframe for transverse oscillating movement with respect to a tie underthe rails, an operating lever fulcrumed with respect to a verticallyadjustable bearing, a pitman connected between one end of the operatinglever and a lower portion of the cutting device, rocker members pivoteally supported at one end from the frame and connected adjacent theiropposite ends to the bearing forming the fulcrum for the operatinglever, means for adjusting the rocker members for vertically adjustingthe said pivotal support and varying the leverage between the operatinglever andthe cutting device, and power operated means connected to theoperating lever for rocking the said lever and oscillating the saidcutting device. v

3. A tie cutting device comprising a frame adapted to be supported onthe rails of a railway track, a cutting device pivotally supported in la depended position in the frame for transverse oscillating movementwith respect to a tie under the rails, an operating lever pivotallysupported in the frame for movement about an adjustable fulcrum, apitman connected between the oper; 65

supported for travel movement on the rails of a railway track, a cuttingdevice supported from the frame for transverse cutting movement withrespect to a tie supporting the rails,y means for operating the cuttingdevice, a vertically adjustable and releasable clamp device on the framefor clamping engagement with one rail to thereby retain the machine inposition with respect to the tie, and means normally urging the clampdevice upwardly out of engagement with the rail.

5. A tie cutting device comprising, a frame adapted to be supported upona railway track, a cutting device pivotally supported in the frame in adepending positionfor swinging movement transversely of a tie .of thetra-ck, a power actuated operating lever fulcrumed in the frame forswinging movement in a vertical plane and connected to the cuttingdevice, a vertically adjustable bearing member forming the fulcrum forthe operating lever, and means for vertically adjusting the said bearingmember relative to the operating lever.

'6. A tie cutting device, comprising a frame adapted to be supportedover a railway track, a cutting device pivotally and adjustablysuspended in the frame for oscillating movement transversely withrespect to a railway tie, a power actuated operating lever mounted foroscillation in a vertical 4plane in the frame and connected to the saidcutting device, bearing means for the operating lever, and meanssupporting the said bea-ring means for adjusting the same lengthwise ofthe operating lever in such manner that the amplitude of movement of thecutting device may be regulated without shifting the device fromvertical alignment with the tie. f

7. A tie cutting device comprising a frame supported for travel movementon a railway track, tie cutting mechanism in the frame, and means forlocking the frame against travel movement during cutting operation ofthe mechanism, said means comprising a clamp device pivotally supportedon the frame and yieldably urged upwardly with respect to the frame butcapable of being moved downward to engagement with the rail, and leveractuated means for releasably clamping said clamp device on the rail.

8. In a tie cutting machine for operation upon a railway track, a narrowelongated frame comlnrising spaced side members, bearing means adjacentthe ends of the frame, wheel axles journaled and slidably mountedthrough said bearing means and extended transversely with respect to thelength of the frame, wheels on the said axles for operation upon onerail of the track and arranged to support the said frame inwardly of onetrack rail, means on theframe operative through the space between theframe side members for cutting a tie inwardly of the rail, and means forshifting the said axles in horizontal transverse planes to thereby shiftthe frame relative to the inner side of the rail.

9. A tie cutting device comprising, a frame adapted to be supported upona railway track, a cutting device pivotally supported in the frame in adepending position for swinging movement transversely of a tie of thetrack, a power actuated operating lever fulcrumed in the frame forswinging movement in avvertical plane and connected to thecuttingdevice, means for adjusting the stroke of the operating lever andcutting device conformally to the width of the tie, links connected tothe frame, hanger members connected to the operatinglever, and the saidlinks and hanger members being pivotally connected to pivotally supportthe operating lever.

HORACE E. WOOLERY.

